Public hearing set on proposed rate increases in Clinton

CLINTON — Sewer and water rates soon may rise in the village of Clinton.

The village council, citing losses caused by the recession, will have a public hearing at its Feb. 6 meeting to consider higher rates.

Village Manager Kevin Cornish said the recession caused businesses to leave Clinton and caused the population to decline. In addition, household fixtures such as showers, washing machines, dishwashers and toilets have become more efficient. Both effects combined to cut the revenue raised by water and sewer bills, making it more difficult to operate and maintain the village’s water and sewer systems.

“The bottom line is, we used to sell 80 to 85 million gallons of water per year,” Cornish told the council. But after losing some businesses in the last decade “this year we were thinking we would bottom out around 65 million (gallons per year) but we actually got 63 million gallons (in the preliminary estimate).”

The lower use does not mean that cost-saving cuts can be made.

“The only thing that changes a little bit might be the electricity of running the pump and some of the chemicals. But really, nothing else changes,” Cornish said. “I have to have an employee take care of the water system, I have to have a water tower, I have pipes in the ground, I have wells. I have all kinds of things we have to have — pumps and chemicals and consultants and everything. I have those whether I sell 80 million gallons a year or whether I sell 60 million gallons a year. Those things all have to be here.”

To make up the difference, Cornish has proposed raises to both parts of the the sewer and water bills— both the per-gallon use charge and the monthly “readiness to serve” charge. He’s asking that the usage rate for water go from $1.50 to $1.60 per gallon and sewer rise from $7.30 to $7.60 per gallon. He’s also asking that the “readiness to serve” rate go from A $7 charge to $8 per month for water and from $13.50 to $15 for sewer.

Council member Joe Orban agreed with Cornish’s concern and pointed out that historically, Clinton and other municipalities used to raise usage fees rather than the “readiness to serve” fee so residents could control the amount they would pay.

When the facilities were built, conventional wisdom dictated that population, industry and therefore usage would continue to increase with time. But now, Orban said, growth no longer is a given on and the village needs the “readiness to serve” fee to stabilize its revenue.

“If you go to Florida for six months, you still have to maintain that pipe and have it ready to be there,” Orban said. “We can’t shut off those things. We can’t lay people off for six months while people are gone. We can’t do that.”

“We were the other philosophy back in the ‘90s. We took the philosophy that we’ll let you control your usage by controlling the rate. If you want to use less, you pay less,” Cornish said. “But the world has changed in the last 15 years and it’s hard for us to balance the budgets.”

When usage declined in those years, Cornish said, the village could have raised its rates, but decided against it.

“We chose not to raise the rates then because people were struggling to put food on the table and pay their mortgage and we felt like we were going to do stuff differently,” he said. “What we did is, when people left — either retired from here or took a new job — we did our best not to replace (them). And we’re running on 20 percent fewer people than we did back then. …. But time has passed and those costs have now caught up with us and so we’re sort of in a jam now.”

Operating costs have increased, including the expense of maintaining, repairing or replacing parts of the system as it ages. The village has to fund planned costs such as the $95,000 repainting of the water tower in the next three to five years, as well as unforeseen expenses such as the recent $45,000 repair of a lift station and three pumps costing the village $9,000 each.

The staff operating the facilities are getting older and some are retiring. The village has struggled finding qualified workers. It likely will have to offer higher pay in the future.

Council member Bonnie Peters stressed the need for communication and resident input before approving the increases.

“I just think we have to be very careful and keep the public informed, because we have raised the rates on a lot of things this past year and they have to be informed to realize what’s going on, why these prices are necessary,” Peters said. “Or they’ll just look at it and say, ‘Oh, they raised our rates again.’ But if they get background, maybe that will help.”

February’s public hearing will be at the council’s regular meeting, 7 p.m. at the Clinton Village office building at 119 E. Michigan Ave. Council member Joe Orban agreed with Cornish’s concern and pointed out that historically,

Clinton and other municipalities used to raise usage fees rather than the “readiness to serve” fee so residents could control the amount they would pay.

When the facilities were built, conventional wisdom dictated that population, industry and therefore usage would continue to increase with time. But now, Orban said, growth no longer is a given and the village needs the “readiness to serve” fee to stabilize its revenue.

“If you go to Florida for six months, you still have to maintain that pipe and have it ready to be there,” Orban said. “We can’t shut off those things. We can’t lay people off for six months while people are gone. We can’t do that.”

“We were the other philosophy back in the ’90s. We took the philosophy that we’ll let you control your usage by controlling the rate. If you want to use less, you pay less,” Cornish said. “But the world has changed in the last 15 years and it’s hard for us to balance the budgets.”

When usage declined in those years, Cornish said, the village could have raised its rates, but decided against it.

“We chose not to raise the rates then because people were struggling to put food on the table and pay their mortgage and we felt like we were going to do stuff differently,” he said. “What we did is, when people left — either retired from here or took a new job — we did our best not to replace (them). And we’re running on 20 percent fewer people than we did back then. …. But time has passed and those costs have now caught up with us and so we’re sort of in a jam now.”

Operating costs have increased, including the expense of maintaining, repairing or replacing parts of the system as it ages. The village has to fund planned costs such as the $95,000 repainting of the water tower in the next three to five years, as well as unforeseen expenses such as the recent $45,000 repair of a lift station and three pumps costing the village $9,000 each.

The staff operating the facilities are getting older and some are retiring. The village has struggled finding qualified workers. It likely will have to offer higher pay in the future.

Council member Bonnie Peters stressed the need for communication and resident input before approving the increases.

“I just think we have to be very careful and keep the public informed, because we have raised the rates on a lot of things this past year and they have to be informed to realize what’s going on, why these prices are necessary,” Peters said. “Or they’ll just look at it and say, ‘Oh, they raised our rates again.’ But if they get background, maybe that will help.”

February’s public hearing will be at the council’s regular meeting, 7 p.m. at the Clinton Village office building at 119 E. Michigan Ave.